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So you think you can forget about "the bomb?"

UPDATE: Despite the expected protests from Russia, Congress has approved funding for the initial steps of a limited missle defense system.

With the end of the Cold War, I thought the threat of missiles delivering nuclear warheads on U.S. soil was gone. Based on recent information in different newspapers and magazines, that threat may soon be very real again -- if it isn’t now.

The Chinese are an obvious threat. I was unaware until recently that they threatened to bomb Los Angeles during the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis. Intelligence indicates that North Korea may very well be capable today of raining down nuclear bombs on American cities. Iran and Iraq may have this capability within five years.

I don’t want to cause anyone to lose sleep at night. I remember having trouble sleeping after watching the powerful TV movie The Day After in the 80’s. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend that you pick it up at your library or video store. It is a powerful depiction of the horrors of nuclear war.

What I do want to do is join the voices calling for another look at the missile defense system first investigated during the Reagan years. The technology of the time could not handle thousands of incoming missiles with multiple warheads. Computer and satellite technology has come a long way since the early 80’s. We may very well be able to put up a defense system capable of finding and knocking out a small number of missiles.

Can we afford not to do it? Think of all the things, from the embassy bombings last year to what you go through every time you go to the airport, that show how many people in the world hate America and Americans. A concept like Mutual Assured Destruction would work with an opponent like the old Soviet Union; how many people want to rely on that with Saddam or the Ayatollahs? I don’t.

Let’s start some serious research and a national dialogue now. If it’s feasible to implement a defense, let’s do it.

Let’s not have to tell tales to our Grandchildren about some great American city that used to exist but no longer does because we did not do what was needed.

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